This invention relates in general to the construction of electric furnaces and in particular to a new and useful contact electrode arrangement for electrical arc or resistance melting furnaces.
From German Pat. No. 219575, there is known an electrode arrangement in which the electrodes are designed as a bundle of iron rods which are connected to each other at their lower ends by a plate, thus forming therewith a single body through which the electric current is supplied. This arrangement does not apply the known principle (see German No. OS 25 25 720) of providing an electrically conducting brick lining in the lower part of the furnace, through which the electrode arrangement is supplied. This known solution is disadvantageous particularly in that due to the embedded electrode rods, the brick lining is heated, and thus is subjected to higher stress and wear. A further disadvantage are the uncontrollable contact conditions between the metal rods and the electrically conducting lining, resulting in a poorly controllable current distribution.